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Abstract

Through use of the double-decrement life table technique, the relative impact of changing retirement and mortality schedules on male departure from the labor force is examined for the years 1970 and 1975. The results reveal that the influence of retirement behavior on the labor force participation rate is much greater than that of mortality. In spite of modest declines in the mortality rates between 1970 and 1975, greater retirement rates in 1975 consistently reduced the proportion in the labor force and significantly lowered the average number of working years left at every age interval but one. While the increase in the proportion of the population over 65 is an unavoidable certainty based on previous fertility behavior, it appears that an important element of the problem of the dependent elderly is the result of voluntary individual actions that are manageable through public policy.

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The Dependent Elderly Population

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